Mass Domain Monetization

Posts Tagged ‘Domain’

You are an author. You have a book to sell. You have a website with which to promote your book. Wonderful. What’s the URL?

If you have read this and asked yourself, “What’s a URL?” then we need to back up a bit.

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. You will know this better as a “website address” or that string of characters that starts with http://. Like a number on an apartment door, the URL serves as the address for your book’s online home. As the Internet has evolved, many companies have taken on their URLs as their brand. Many have become synonymous with a specific product or entity. When you think of buying books online, for example, you probably think of going to Amazon.com first. When you want to look up information on the Web, you “Google” it.

For any company wishing to establish a permanent online image, the necessity of owning the proper domain (that is, the www-dot-yournamehere-dot-com address) is very important. For corporations like Kraft and GM, it is just another method of solidfying the brand image in the awareness of consumers. By the same token, it is important for an author to take ownership of his name as a URL, regardless of website availability.

Why, you ask? Why would an author with a site hosted by a free third-party space need a URL when one is available through them? Good question.

Oftentimes one will see an author on a budget set up digs on a free server, where all sites are given a special identity attached to their domain. Author John Smith, for one, may have a site on johnsmith-dot-freewebspace-dot-com. In payment for the free usage of space, John Smith will likely have to agree to place advertisement banners on the site, which turn pay for the webspace that John Smith gets for free. One can argue, however, that John’s website is not free, especially if he doesn’t necessarily agree with the banner content.

Having a URL and webspace like this, however, is not the same as having your own website. An author who establishes his name as a URL on a website is capable of an attractive design and point of sale free of distracting advertisements. Moreover, John Smith may not necessarily have to be held to certain Terms of Service as he might for a free website.

Getting back to John’s free site: if the free webspace site does not allow certain types of website content, and John’s book is in that category, he may lose the space altogether, and lose customers.

John may, though, encounter less problems, setting up his own site and URL. Having his own space to work with will give him more freedom in terms of content and promotion. With the fees he pays (and they do not necessarily have to cost a fortune), he eliminates the need for sponsored advertisement, and the URL of his name certifies himself as a brand. Should he decide to print business cards, bumper stickers, or other promotional items, he can use the cleaner www-dot-johnsmith-dot-com address rather than a long, complicated string he had previously used on a free site.

It is important to note, too, that even before you decide to set up shop on the Web that you have ownership of your name as a URL. If you feel your name is especially common, like John Smith, you want to be sure you have it before another John Smith takes it. Furthermore, there is always the likelihood a dubious operation may take control of the URL as either a “parking” site (a webpage full of ads) or for explicit content. There have been instances where certain romance authors forgot to renew their domains and lost them to such users.

When you secure your name as a domain, always keep track of expiration dates, so you don’t lose traffic, or your brand. Using a URL to further promote your book is an excellent way to imprint your name and book in readers’ minds.

The following article presents the very latest information on Domain Names. If you have a particular interest in Domain Names, then this informative article is required reading.

See how much you can learn about Domain Names when you take a little time to read a well-researched article? Don’t miss out on the rest of this great information.

Everyone should have Amy Schrier’s problem.

For six months, she resisted selling the domain name Blue.com for $200,000. Using a formula she devised to fetch the highest market value for cheap domain names, Schrier eventually convinced a private party that Blue.com was worth $500,000. Since the name was sold in March, its site now includes links to sexual material and airfare ads.

“The market will really explode when people realize they are sitting on premium real estate,” says Schrier, 37, an entrepreneur in New York who bought Blue.com for $65,000 in 2002.

Dan Taylor, 54, an industrial designer in Toronto, stumbled onto his domain riches. In the 1990s, he bought Realtone.com with the intent of developing online content for skin care products. As Taylor’s luck would have it, that was before ringtones became available on cell phones. When Universal Entertainment in Germany came calling for the domain name last year, Taylor sold it for an undisclosed amount.

So now you know a little bit about Domain Names. Even if you don’t know everything, you’ve done something worthwhile: you’ve expanded your knowledge.

Have you ever wondered what exactly is up with Domain Names? This informative report can give you an insight into everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Domain Names.

The information about Domain Names presented here will do one of two things: either it will reinforce what you know about Domain Names or it will teach you something new. Both are good outcomes.

Schrier and Taylor are among an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 individuals who make a living buying and selling cheap domain names, though about half prefer to remain anonymous to avoid competition, says Ron Jackson, editor and publisher of Domain Name Journal.

‘A long-term investment’ Most domainers buy and own names. They “park” on sites, where they develop content in the form of Web links and ads, to generate income and increase the value of their virtual real estate.

“It’s a long-term investment, like owning a home,” says Lawrence Fischer, vice president of business development at SmartName.com, a company that owns and manages thousands of cheap domain names, including Stockquotes.com. “But if a major brokerage firm came along with a big offer, I would be willing to listen.”

Plenty have been willing to pay. Sales of 5,851 cheap domain names generated $29 million in 2005, compared with the sale of 3,813 names for $15 million in 2004, market researcher Zetetic says.

Venture-capital firms, too, are betting on cheap domain names.

Like a lottery ticket

“It’s like buying a lottery ticket, but the odds are better,” says Ken Carey, 50, a longtime autoworker in Grand Rapids, Mich., and part-time inventor who owns 200 cheap domain name. “All you gotta do is hit the right niche, and you’re well on your way to being a millionaire.”

When a technology is about to take off, if you buy a domain name that pertains to it, the more generic the name, the better its value.

Sometimes, the payoff is huge.

Sometimes, it lands the owner in legal hot water.

A surge in online ads and Web viewing have made cheap domain names a serious business proposition. Online ad revenue is expected to reach $13.6 billion in the U.S. this year, up 14 percent from last year, according to Jupiter Media. Overall, 153 million people in the U.S. use the Web, up 2.5 percent from a year ago, Nielsen//NetRatings says.

“Those who understand domains and what they represent, can and have done very well,” says Schwartz, 52, who sold Men.com for $1.3 million in late 2003, a huge profit from the $15,000 he paid for it in 1997. He bought Property.com for $750,000 last year.

And Schrier, who sold Blue.com for more than twice what she was originally offered, may soon offer advice. She intends to market her formula for getting the most value out of cheap domain names.

There’s no doubt that the topic of Domain Names can be fascinating. If you still have unanswered questions about Domain Names, you may find what you’re looking for in the next article.